Jesus
The Bible Is Insufficient
Category: General
Tags: Bible, Community, Jesus, Kurt Johnson, Scripture
Patrick Feller via Compfight Kurt Johnson wrote a piece a few days ago on the proper place of Scripture in the life of a believer. He reflects on the fact that we have elevated the…
The God Who Embraces Our Doubt
Category: General
Tags: Bible, Doubt, Faith, God, Honesty, Jesus, The American Jesus, Upside-Down Kingdom, Zack Hunt
Lawrence OP via Compfight Zack Hunt over at The American Jesus posted some of his thoughts on doubt, and it seemed fitting on this week before the Doubt, Faith & the Idol of Certainty conference…
Benefit of the Doubt Is Here!
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Bible, Cruciform Theology, Doubt, Faith, Frank Viola, Greg Boyd, Interview, Jesus
Benefit of the Doubt is finally here and you should definitely get yourself a copy! Frank Viola interviewed Greg about the book recently and you can read it over on Frank’s blog Beyond Evangelical. In fact,…
The Cruciform Beauty of Horrific Divine Portraits
Category: Essays
Tags: Bible, Bible Interpretation, Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Essay, God, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
“Only a person who is aware of the crucified Christ can properly understand Scripture.” Luther (Table Talks) In the last three posts I’ve been wrestling with how insights from Matthew Bate’s book, The Hermeneutics of…
The Cross and the Witness of Violent Portraits of God
Category: Essays
Tags: Bible, Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology, Essay, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
In my previous post I noted that the prevalent contemporary evangelical assumption that the only legitimate meaning of a passage of Scripture is the one the author intended is a rather recent, and very secular,…
The Only Starting Point
Category: General
Tags: Faith, Jesus, Roger Olson
Sree V. Remella via Compfight Our friend Roger Olson wrote a great article on placing Jesus first when constructing a statement of faith. It might seem like a small thing, but it deeply matters what…
Getting Behind the “Letter” of Violent Portraits of God
Category: Essays
Tags: Bible, Character of God, Cruciform Theology, Essay, Hermeneutics, Jesus, Matthew Bates, New Testament, Non-Violence, Old Testament, Reformed Theology, Scripture, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
“I will do to you what I have never done before… in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents…” Ezek. 5:9-10 In my previous post I offered a brief review…
Why do some of Jesus’ parables depict God in violent ways?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology, Jesus, Parables, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Greg deals with the question of what it means that some of Jesus’ parables seem to depict God in violent terms. In addition to getting an answer to this question you’ll be treated to a…
Are You Guilty of Marcionism?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Cruciform Theology, Heresy, Jesus, Non-Violence, Old Testament, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Greg responds to the question of whether or not his cruciform hermeneutic is anything like the heresy of Marcion, who basically advocated throwing out the Old Testament. (Spoiler: it’s not.)
Forgiveness in the Christus Victor View of the Atonement
Category: Q&A
Tags: Atonement, Christus Victor, Forgiveness, God, Jesus, Sin, Wrath
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement
Did Jesus need to die on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath in order for us to be forgiven? Greg discusses the role of forgiveness in the Christus Victor view of the Atonement.
Does Jesus’ Abandonment on the Cross Destroy the Trinity?
Category: Essays
Tags: Abandonment, An Open Orthodoxy, Cruciform Theology, Dwayne Polk, Essay, Father, God is Love, Godhead, Jesus, Tom Belt, Trinity, Trinity and Process
Topics: Atonement and The Cross, Theological Method, Trinity
In my previous blog I argued that Jesus’ experience of God-forsakenness on the cross was genuine and that, as a matter of fact, there was a genuine abandonment of Jesus by the Father on the…
Video Q&A: Do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are saved?
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Belief, Eternity, Faith, Heaven, Humility, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus, Love of God, Mormonism, Q&A, Salvation, Video Q&A
Topics: Death and Salvation
Does Greg believe that everyone goes to Heaven regardless of their beliefs? Find out here.
Interview with Frank Viola on his Book “God’s Favorite Place on Earth”
Category: General
Tags: Frank Viola, Interview, Jesus
Today is the release date for Frank Viola’s new book, God’s Favorite Place on Earth. Greg did an interview with Frank recently, and in celebration of his book release, we’re sharing that interview here. If…
From Boston, With Love
Category: General
Tags: Boston Bombings, Cruciform Theology, Forgiveness, Jesus, Mercy, Peacemaking, T.C. Moore
We posted some of T. C. Moore’s reflections on the Open 2013 conference earlier this week. T. C. lives in Boston and was deeply moved by the violence and terror that came to his city….
The Extremity of God’s Love
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Father, God, Godhead, Jesus, Love, Sacrifice, Separation, Trinity, Unity
Topics: Atonement and The Cross
In response to questions he has received about whether Jesus was actually separated from the Father on the cross, Greg fleshes out his perspective on this. The love that unites the Trinity is the very…
On Attending to the Light in Darkness
Category: General
Tags: Boston Bombings, Donald Miller, Evil, Jesus
Joe Spurr via Compfight Donald Miller has posted a reflection on his Storyline blog about highlighting goodness and thereby pointing to Jesus in the aftermath of events such as the bombing in Boston this week. We…
Forgiving the Unforgivable
Category: General
Tags: Current Events, Forgiveness, Grace, Jesus, Osheta Moore
Osheta Moore wrote a courageous and challenging post last week entitled Washing the Feet of the Steubenville Rapists. It’s not an easy read, and if you’re vulnerable to triggers in this area, you might want…
God’s Aikido Way of Defeating Evil
Category: Essays
Tags: Atonement, Christus Victor, Demons, Essay, God, Jesus, Love, Non-Violence, Redemption
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement
Greg continues his thoughts on the atonement with this installment highlighting the way God uses the evil intentions and actions of his enemies to bring about good. And because this strategy is based in love,…
The Witness of Graffiti (Rocks Crying Out)
Category: General
Tags: Creation, Easter, Jesus, Justice, Kingdom, Suffering
Ibrahim Iujaz via Compfight On this eve of Easter, we wanted to share something that fit the mood of the time between the crucifixion and the resurrection. D.L. Mayfield wrote this striking piece on the…
Aslan Roars: The Atonement as Spiritual Warfare
Category: General
Tags: Atonement, C.S. Lewis, Christus Victor, Chronicles of Narnia, Jesus, Warfare Worldview
Greg begins to unpack the Christus Victor view of the atonement by comparing it to the Chronicles of Narnia.